Wire placing device



Oct. 24, 1967 w. M. PIERCE, JR 3,348,811

WIRE PLACING DEVICE Filed March 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ 9INVENTOR. WAYNE M. P|ERCE, JR.

' BY (whim ATTORNEY Oct. 24, 1967 w. PIERCE, JR 3,348,811

WIRE PLACING DEVICE Filed March 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet B WAYNE M.'PIERCE, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice 3,348,81 l Patented Oct. 24, 19673,348,811 WIRE PLACING DEVICE Wayne M. Pierce, Jr., Milford Conn.,assignor to Hunt- Pierce Corporation, Milford, Conn., a corporation ofConnecticut Filed Mar. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 537,416 3 Claims. (Cl.254134.3)

This invention relates to an improvement in the means ;for placing wireor cable through use of a boom situated on a supporting vehicle.

The art of placing wires or cables by means of a boom is not new. Suchbooms are generally located on supporting structures in the form of avehicle or similar movable means. To the upper end of the boom isusually coupled a platform or bucket capable of supporting the workmenwho participate in the placement of the wire or cable. The vehiclegenerally stores the supply of wire or cable on reels, and doles out thenecessary wire length in accordance with the movement of the vehicle. Avehicle is required in order to allow for the long distances generallyinvolved in the placement of wire. To provide for flexibility, the boommay be constructed so as to be capable of being positioned in an angularmanner with respect to the stationary vehicle. For the boom to beangularly displaceable in relation to its supporting vehicle, it isessential to provide means by which the wire can be angularly orientedin correspondence to the angular position of the boom.

Heretofore, the means which guided the wire to the boom, did not possessthe feature which allowed the wire to become angularly oriented so as tocorrespond to the orientation of the boom. Such means, heretofore,exerted forces of wear and bending moments upon the wire, and thisresulted in decrease of the durability and life span 'of the wire orcable. Aside from this, the surface of the It is an object of thisinvention, therefore, to provide a rotatable guiding device which passeswire from the vehicle to the boom and which is capable of positioningitself freely in an angular manner so as to correspond to theorientation of the boom in the proper relationship.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for passing wirefrom the vehicle to the boom without applying to the wire undue forcesof wear and bending moments.

A further object of this invention is to provide a guiding device forpassing Wire from the vehicle to the boom, which maintains minimum, thefrictional resistance exerted on or experienced by the wire.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a guidingdevice which has the ability to be stored at a road side, for example,without utilizing the complex latches and guiding wheel constructionsheretofore used.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a guidingdevice of a light, tubular and unitary structure to prevent anyinadvertent removal of the wire or cable therefrom while it is beingstrung.

A still further object of this invention is to provide the guidingdevice with means adaptable for solid and stranded wire.

series of rollers 19 It is a yet further object of this invention toprovide means for adjusting the height of the guiding device in relationto the boom to allow for effective operation as well as storage.

Other objects and advantages are set forth in greater detail in thefollowing specification taken in conjunction with accompanying drawingsin which:

FIGURE 1 is a mechanical assembly diagram showing the guiding device inrelation to the boom, reel of wire and supporting vehicle.

FIGURE 2 shows the stowed condition of the assemblage of FIGURE 1 withthe guiding device removed.

FIGURE 3 shows a modified form of the guiding device adapted to theplacement of stranded wire.

In accordance with FIGURES 1 and 2, the motor vehicle 1 is equipped withfacility to carry a reel 2 upon which the wire or cable to be placed iswound. Although the term wire is used in the description of thisinvention, the expression cable may be applied equally well. The vehicleincludes linkage 3 which serves to load the reel firmly in place on thevehicle. The reel is mounted on an axis or trunnion 4, and is balancedso that it may rotate freely. Axis 4 is located so as to allow fordifferent sizes and weights of reels.

A boom 5 is supported by the vehicle through a vertical bearing base 6.This bearing support permits the boom to be rotated to the desiredangular direction. Linkage 7 allows the boom to be raised or lowered bypivoting about axis 8. The boom is of telescopic design and includes anextensible section 9 which allows the length of the boom to be adjustedin accordance with the position of the vehicle and the location of thepoint at which the wire is to be placed.

At the end of section 9, is a bucket 10, supported in bearing 11. Thepurpose of the bucket is to accommodate working personnel which aid inthe placement of the wire. The bucket may have a capacity for one ormore workmen. Accordingly the bucket, when in service, should always beupright or oriented so that the per sonnel standing in the bucket arevertical. This is accomplished by assuring that the center of gravity ofthe bucket is well below the axis 11. In this manner the bucket willautomatically align itself in a vertical direction regardless of theangular position of the boom. By allowing the bucket to rotate freely inbearing 11, the center of gravity of the bucket will not be stable, andit will move until the bucket is vertical without requiring any externalstimuli.

Linkage 12 is provided for the purpose of stowing the boom when not inuse. In this way the boom may be lowered and located in an appropriateposition on the vehicle, so as not to present an obstacle when passingunder overhead structures or when moving on roadways in relation toother traffic. The stowed condition of the boom is illustrated in FIGURE2.

In order to lead the wire to the location of the bucket, the wire 13leaving the reel, is guided by rollers 14 towards a pivot assembly andguiding device 15. This guiding device includes a tube 16 within whichthe wire passes. The tube is fastened to a mast 17 that protrudes from ahousing 18. The combination of members 17 and 18 forms a telescopicarrangement in that mast 17 may be raised or lowered in place, or becompletely rernoved for stowage purposes as shown in FIGURE 2. Asupported on bearings 20 fixed to tube 16, serve to guide wire 13through the tube with a minimum amount of frictional resistance. Thewire emerging from tube 16 passes into a second tube 21 held by a joint22 mounted on mast 17. Joint 22 allows tube 21 to swivel angularly inaccordance with the direction and position of boom 5. With thisarrangement, therefore, the boom may turn to any desired directionwithout stressing around a curve at a point remote 1 3 the wire to beplaced, or abrading the wire surface as a result of friction.

Tube or chute 21 may include rollers of the type 19 to minimize frictionas the wire passes through it in the manner similar to that of tube 16,or chute 21 may comprise the construction shown in FIGURE 1. The mouthof chute 21 is funnel shaped to allow for variations in the height ofthe boom, and to prevent the edge of the chute from rubbing against thesurface of the wire.

It will be noted that the tube 21 is disposed at a point some distanceremoved from the turret assembly. This location of the tube permits thewire or cable to be or strain thereon being is that the wire passes fromboth the reel and placed with the undesirable stress inhibited. Thereason therefore,

the wire laying device.

A pin 22a may be accommodated in an opening in the mast 17 to preventthe tube or chute 21 from swiveling during traveling on the road. Bythis means there is no need for disconnecting the tube from the mastwhile traveling to and from work or to different work sites.

When it is desired to place stranded wire, a swivel sheave 23 may beemployed in lieu of chute 21. Sheave 23 is held by joint 22 in a mannersimilar to that of chute 21, and is capable of swiveling about the jointin accordance with the requirements of the boom. Sheave 24 supported bybearing 25, serves to lead the wire towards swivel sheave 23, andassures that the wire is properly seated on the latter sheave. Thesheaves may include grooves at their circumferences to aid in properlyseating the wire. Bearing 25 is mounted on mast 17 so as to conform inproper relationship to the swivel sheave.

The device of the present invention is an enclosed tubular unitarycompactconstruction which prevents any inadvertent or accidental removalof the wire or. cable therefrom as had occurred with devices for wireplacing heretofore used.

The present invention provides a structure which may be removed with theentire reel and cable and placed at the road side. This has theadvantage of overcoming the necessity of first removing the wire fromthe complex latch and wheel guiding element proposed by the prior art.The wire placing device of the present invention is light and compactand easily removeable with the wire from the vehicle itself.

The guiding device provides the kinematic link which gives the boom thefreedom of being positioned both in height and angular direction, so asto reach locations which would otherwise be inaccessible.

While this invention has been described in some detail, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that variations and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

1. A wire placing device comprising in combination: a vehicle fortransporting said device; a reel of wire and means for supporting saidreel; a boom situated on said vehicle; a mast; means for guiding thewire from said reel to said boom; a chute on said mast through whichsaid wire passes from said reel to said boom, said chute comprisingupper and lower curved portions and rollers extending into said chute tominimize frictional effects on the wire as it moves through said chute,said portions being aligned end to end; swivel means for mounting saidupper portion to pivot about an axis through the aligned ends; and amember in which said mast is adapted to slide, said member being locatedat the front of said. vehicle.

2. The wire placing device of claim 1 wherein said mast and member inwhich it slides comprise a telescopic structure and said mast isremovable for stowage.

3. The wire placing device of claim 1 wherein said upper portion of saidchute is freely rotatable through an angle of 360.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,413,909 1/1947 Clement et al.254-1343 3,052,450 9/1962 Trunnell .,254134.3 3,103,345 9/1963 Eitel254- 3,201,090 8/1965 Jones 254-.l34.3 3,279,758 10/1966 Eitel254?-134.3

OTHELL SIMPSON, Primary Examiner, I

1. A WIRE PLACING DEVICE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A VEHICLE FORTRANSPORTING SAID DEVICE; A REEL OF WIRE AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAIDREEL; A BOOM SITUATED ON SAID VEHICLE; A MAST; MEANS FOR GUIDING THEWIRE FROM SAID REEL TO SAID BOOM; A CHUTE ON SAID MAST THROUGH WHICHSAID WIRE PASSES FROM SAID REEL TO SAID BOOM, SAID CHUTE COMPRISINGUPPER AND LOWER CURVED PORTIONS AND ROLLERS EXTENDING INTO SAID CHUTE TOMINIMIZE FRICTIONAL EFFECTS ON THE WIRE AS IT MOVES THROUGH SAID CHUTE,SAID PORTIONS BEING ALIGNED END TO END; SWIVEL MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAIDUPPER PORTION TO PIVOT ABOUT AN AXIS THROUGH THE ALIGNED ENDS; AND AMEMBER IN WHICH SAID MAST IS ADAPTED TO SLIDE, SAID MEMBER BEING LOCATEDAT THE FRONT OF SAID VEHICLE.